Upgrading Home Theater-BIC,Athena or Phaze?

[taddy_porter]

I'm due a $600 bonus at work so I plan on spending the money to start a long-overdue upgrade on my stereo system. $600 isn't really enough for a full-fledged receiver+5.1 speaker set up so I'm planning on starting with the main speakers and the center and then eventually replacing the sub & receivers and maybe the rears.

Here's my current setup:

JVC rx-6000v Receiver
AIWA TS-w60 SUB
Pioneer CS-M551 Mains (now 15 years old)
Wharfedale wh-2 rears
Generic KLH center
Mitsi 55inch High-Def CRT TV

I'm running an HTPC and outputting audio via SPDIF to the optical input on the JVC. The setup is home theatre only. Nothing else is of any concern. Obviously it all needs to be replaced at some point but I figured I'd get the biggest quality improving my spending my $600 on the mains + center and eventually upgrading the others as I get the money.

In looking at the options in my price range I've found the following and I'm wondering if anyone has any advice on any of them or if there's some better speakers I should be considering.

Option 1:
Athena AS-C1 Center Speaker $99
Athena AS-F2 Main / Stereo Speaker $200
Or are the Updated F2.2 better than the AS-F2? They're the same price?
Total cost $490-would still have $$ to spend(or to put in saving for a reciever/sub)

Option 2:
Klipsch SC-1 Center $200 or Klipsch SC.5 Center $150
Klipsch SF-1 Mains $179
This would be $508 to $558 depending on which center I chose

Option 3:
Phase Technology Teatro 7.5VDT Black $162 for mains
Phase Technology - Teatro 6.5 Black Center Channel Speaker $112.50
$436 - leaving money to spend

Option 4:
Swans SW4.1BC + Swans C2 center ~$700. Out of my price range but since Newegg gives 6 months financing on their CC I could pull this one off.

Option 5:
Polk Audio - CSI3 Black Center Channel Loudspeaker $199 (OR CS1-$179)
Polk Audio Monitor 50 Black $199 each
$600

Option 6:
BIC Acoustech HT-75 Mains
BIC Acoustech HT-65 Center
$500

Anybody want to chime in on which setup would give me the best sound? I'm also open to other suggestions. My only prerequisite is that the system be able to blow my buddy's BOSE set up away and not put me in the dog house with the wifey (hence the $600 budget)

I've all but eliminated all except the BIC's, Athena's and the Phase's. Right now I'm leaning toward's the BICs but has anyone compared any of the 3 above?

 

[jaxvon]

BIC, Athena, or Phase Tech will blow your buddy's Bose system out of the water. That said, they're all quite different. The BIC is a horn tweeter and metal woofers (very suited to HT, but maybe not quite as great for music), the Phase Techs use a poly-cone with a soft-dome tweeter, and the Athenas (if I remember correctly) use an aluminum dome tweeter and a poly woofer. They will all have their own signature sound. While all of them are good, deciding which one is right for you is not something I can do. Try to find a dealer in your area that carries the speakers you're looking for and see if you can have a listen.

Also, here's some questions that might help others out:

How big is your room?
What will this system be used for, movie and music percentages?
What kind of music do you listen to?

 

[edwelly]

How about 5 of these? BIC America DV-62CLRS ? I heard/read good things about these speakers.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00009WBYL/qid=1133463224/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-9123538-2733458?n=507846&s=electronics&v=glance

I wanted to say get the Swans but that is only because I am interested in them and wanted some more opinions

 

[jaxvon]

THWAP


That was the sound of me slapping my head and saying, WHY DIDN'T I MENTION THAT?!

The DV62CLR is also a good speaker. Heck, with a $600, you could get 2pr of the DV62si bookshelves and 3 DV62CLR speakers. You'll be ready for 7.1!

I find the DV62s to be somewhat bright sounding, but I plan to have the crossovers modded at some point when I have the money. The crossover mod is done by Ed Frias of EFE technology. It's supposed to take away the brightness and make the speaker sound all-around better.

 

[patnshan]

Phase tech

I would go with option #3 and use the extra cash to get a 10 or 12 inch Dayton sub. I REALLY like the phase tech's but think they need a good sub to go with them. The 7.5's may be better in the bass dept, but I doubt enough without a sub. The Dayton will KILL that sub you have.

I have the 4.5's and can vouch for their clarity and ability to go loud. The highs are crisp and the midbass is substantial. They are a STEAL for the price. I am sure the 7.5's are even better. You could also go with 4.5's front and back, 6.5 in the center and get a the sub giving you a really nice 5.1 system in your price range. I would even go out on a limb and say that you CANNOT beat that 5.1 system for around $600.

Pat

 

[MacManNM]

I'd knock those klipsch and swans off the list right off the bat.

The Athena's are a good deal, as are the BIC DV series. I wouldn't go with the acoustech because I don't really think they are all that great of a value for the money.

You could get 3 DV62clr's, and 2 DV62si's, and you'd have almost enough left over for a decent sub.

 

[MacManNM]

THWAP


That was the sound of me slapping my head and saying, WHY DIDN'T I MENTION THAT?!

The DV62CLR is also a good speaker. Heck, with a $600, you could get 2pr of the DV62si bookshelves and 3 DV62CLR speakers. You'll be ready for 7.1!

I find the DV62s to be somewhat bright sounding, but I plan to have the crossovers modded at some point when I have the money. The crossover mod is done by Ed Frias of EFE technology. It's supposed to take away the brightness and make the speaker sound all-around better.

Have you tried putting the felt around the tweeter yet?

 

[taddy_porter]

Ok, I'm eliminating all except the BIC's, Phase's and Athena's although I think I'm close to crossing the Athena's off the list. Is the general consesus then that for the BIC's instead of the Acoustech's I should be considering this:

Option 7:
BIC America Venturi DV84 x2 $280
BIC America DV-62CLRS $100
total $380 then buy a subwoofer too

Are the Venturi's better than the Acoustech's? I figured the Acoustech's were better so I was leaning towards getting the higher quality Fronts now and upgrading the receiver/sub later on. My plan was to upgrade the Fronts/Center now, then the receiver, then the sub and eventually the rears (I know they're not acoustically matched to whatever fronts I'm buying but they're decent rears)

My room is a living room that's about 19x22(a guess). The wall the TV is on is solid the the 2 outside walls are covered with 3 windows each. The wall to the right of the tv opens into an eat in kitchen and has a half wall. The rears will be (the house in pre-drywall stage right now) mounted at window height. If you really care to know the exact layout you can see it here.

Since this is HT only music is of no concern at all.

Thanks for the info BTW.

 

[MacManNM]

That is what I would do. As a matter of fact, I did. I bought those for my father in law earlier this year.

 

[Sheep]

Athena's don't use Metal dome tweeters, its Teteron or something like that. Its basically a different kind of a silk dome. Its not ringy like metal, but its brighter then silk. Its weird.

SheepStar

 

[taddy_porter]

Living room's carpeted also, forgot to mention.

 

[jaxvon]

Have you tried putting the felt around the tweeter yet?

Nope. I have a felt, a big sheet of it, but it's still just floating around my room somewhere.

 

[MacManNM]

Nope. I have a felt, a big sheet of it, but it's still just floating around my room somewhere.

Well get off your #%@ and do it!

 

[mulester7]

Option 7:
BIC America Venturi DV84 x2 $280
BIC America DV-62CLRS $100
total $380 then buy a subwoofer too

.....I applaud your thinking to put the 84's up front as mains....you stand a good chance for the 62's used as rears/surrounds to enchance the 84's with resolved mids.....

 

[patnshan]

.....I applaud your thinking to put the 84's up front as mains....you stand a good chance for the 62's used as rears/surrounds to enchance the 84's with resolved mids.....

One thing to consider if you subscribe to Ed Frias' school of thought. He recommends not going with the 84's due to the general inability of 8 inch drivers to produce accurate midrange sounds. He recommends the 64's or 62's as mains when coupled with a sub. That would save you more cash for the sub.

He recommends the JBL E250 sub as a cheap option, which I think stinks however I would go with a dayton instead in your price range.

Pat

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

I'd go with option 6 for 100% HT. You can't beat the look of high gloss black speakers. If you were 50/50 on HT/music, I'd say go with 5 DV62CLR's and a Dayton 12" sub.

 

[taddy_porter]

Ok, I think I'm just going to try to find stores that stock the BIC's and the Phase speakers and possibly the Athena's. Hopefully I'll find the ones that sound best to me. I think I'm leaning more towards Option 6 then anything else although the Phase Tech's seem interesting. I'm also curious why the DC are so well-recommended, but I think they are more appropriate for music than HT, no?

Now the trick is finding stores that stock these speakers. On the plus side I don't want to buy them until my house is done (mid January) so I still have plenty of time. Thanks for the help. If any one has a direct comparison between any of these sets of speakers don't be shy to share ;-)

 

[johsti]

I find the DV62s to be somewhat bright sounding, but I plan to have the crossovers modded at some point when I have the money. The crossover mod is done by Ed Frias of EFE technology. It's supposed to take away the brightness and make the speaker sound all-around better.

Have you messed with the eq on your 1015? I always used the auto mcacc eq settings until I tried turning the eq "off". In fact I thought it sounded better with the eq off in my room. I'm now using the custom eq and set all values to 0, and then set the 13kHz down to -1 or -2. This made enough of a difference for me to put off the crossover mods for awhile. I'm sure you've already tried this obvious temporary fix, but thought I would mention it anyway.

BTW, it seems we have the same taste in receivers, speakers, headphones and laptops. I should just copy and paste your sig for my own.

 

[taddy_porter]

Well I noticed Amazon has Energy's on sale how would this compare:

Take 1.2 $70
Energy eXL-25 $250
Only $320
I'd then have money for Dayton sub to add on to that. The cost is so little though it seems like this would be inferior to the BIC/Athena/Phaze setup would it not?